1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to cabinet door latches, specifically a latch to prevent a door from opening as a result of an earthquake.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Modern cabinet door closures are made for ease of operation and many will not hold securely through earth tremors. Examples of easily opened closures are magnetic latches and spring hinges. Child-proof locks are sometimes installed to protect against earthquakes, resulting in loss of ease of operation. An Earthquake Actuated Door Latch will hold a door closed during an earth tremor without causing loss of the ease of operation of modern door closures. The following U.S. patents are considered by the applicant to be related:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,143 May 17, 1994 Bucker PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,562 Oct. 6, 1992 Stevenson & Simpson PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,451 Jul. 30, 1991 Brady
Buckner's device mounts inside the cabinet on a shelf, occupying storage space and possibly interfering with stocking of the cabinet. A finger must be inserted through a narrow door gap to release the latch after it has operated, and it requires a tool to accomplish the reset. A tremor moves a weight and after the weight reaches the right position a spring-operated latch is released to hook the door. The door could open before these two occurrences are completed.
Stevenson and Simpson 's device, when used with kitchen cabinets, is limited to inside mounting. Like Buckner's it occupies storage space and might interfere with stocking of the cabinet. Release of the door requires insertion of a finger or tool inside the narrow door gap to manipulate the latch. Reset takes two actions, one to reinsert the latch engaging member and one to reach behind the housing to pull the ball back in place. Sensitivity to sideward motions is poor because there is nothing to eject the ball from its cavity if there is no forward-backward motion. Action might be too slow since the ball must travel from the cavity to the slot in the engaging member. A door could open before this is completed.
Brady's design will not respond to side-to-side motion. If something stored on a shelf were to fall over and roll against the door due to sideward motions, the latch would not operate and things could spill out. His device also mounts inside the cabinet. Some people may prefer a visible latch easily accessible from the outside.
The previously patented devices are difficult to install, are not acceptable for mounting on the outside of kitchen cabinets, reset after operation is inconvenient, and they occupy storage space inside the cabinet.